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Selective publication means unfavorable drug studies rarely get published

A new report claims that almost a third of the research done on antidepressant drugs is never published in medical literature and most of those unpublished reports are unfavorable.

20 Jan 2008

National High Magnetic Field Lab receives $2 million to tackle tuberculosis

About 5,000 people around the world die from tuberculosis every day, but no effective new drugs have been developed to combat it in 40 years.

18 Jan 2008

Previously unknown Merkel cell polyomavirus linked to deadly skin cancer

A new strategy to hunt for human viruses described in this week's issue of the journal Science by the husband-and-wife team who found the cause of Kaposi's sarcoma has revealed a previously unknown virus strongly associated with another rare but deadly skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma.

18 Jan 2008

Scientists uncover role of cancer stem cell marker: controlling gene expression

Scientists at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia have made an extraordinary advance in the understanding of the function of a gene previously shown to be part of an 11-gene "signature" that can predict which tumors will be aggressive and likely to spread.

18 Jan 2008

Diet and lifestyle critical to recovery

Diet and lifestyle may play a much more significant role in a person's ability to respond favourably to certain drugs, including some cancer therapies, than previously understood, say scientists.

From The University of Manchester 18 Jan 2008

Altering brain's lipid metabolism reduces Alzheimer's plaques in mice

Increasing levels of a protein that helps the brain use cholesterol may slow the development of Alzheimer's disease changes in the brain, according to researchers studying a mouse model of the disease at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Jan 2008

Selective reporting of antidepressant trials exaggerates drug effectiveness

Selective publication in reporting results of antidepressant trials exaggerates the effectiveness of the drugs, according to a report in the January 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 Jan 2008

New drug lets kids feel good in their skin

Maria Anichini, a 20-year-old junior at Columbia College, zipped up a fetching black lace cocktail dress with spaghetti straps to go out with friends the other night.

17 Jan 2008

Statins may not prevent Alzheimer's disease

Contrary to some reports, taking statins, which are cholesterol-lowering drugs, offers no protection against Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the January 16, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Jan 2008

Cell death suppression increases efficacy of M2 vaccines

Significant public attention has recently been focused on the development of new anti-influenza (flu) vaccines that provide protection against a broad spectrum of viral strains.

17 Jan 2008

Cancer Research UK invests 10 million pounds in drug discovery

Project leaders at Imperial College London, University of Oxford, University of Strathclyde and The School of Pharmacy in London will each receive 500k pounds per year for five years to develop anti-cancer drugs.

17 Jan 2008

Nanomechanical analysis of cells from cancer patients

A multidisciplinary team of scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), were able to differentiate metastatic cancer cells from normal cells in patient samples by utilizing a modified form of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure the softness of the cells.

16 Jan 2008

Matrix metalloproteinase-assisted triggered release of liposomal contents

Cancer cells display a variety of proteins on their outer membranes that are not present on the surface of normal cells.

16 Jan 2008

New technique could dramatically lower costs of DNA sequencing

Using computer simulations, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a strategy for sequencing DNA by driving the molecule back and forth through a nanopore capacitor in a semiconductor chip.

16 Jan 2008

Viroporins, membrane-permeabilizing proteins of the poliomyelitis virus

A research team from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid directed by Professor Luís Carrasco has published new discoveries concerning the membrane permeabilizing proteins of the polio virus.

16 Jan 2008

Bisphosphonates - osteoporosis drugs triple risk of bone necrosis

A University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute study has found that a popular class of osteoporosis drugs nearly triples the risk of developing bone necrosis, a condition that can lead to disfigurement and incapacitating pain.

16 Jan 2008

New research may shed light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules

Proteins, the biological molecules involved in virtually every action of every organism, may themselves move in surprising ways, according to a recent study from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory that may shed new light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules.

16 Jan 2008